Black market.

That's right, following the directions from the village chief of Tazhai Village, they arrived at the black market they had visited before.

They felt as if they might have discovered something extraordinary.

After all, the village chief who lived in a small village under the Taichu Sect's mountain had many rare treasures in his home, knew about the black market, and seemed to visit often.

The Law Enforcement Elders carefully inquired in the black market, spending a significant amount of money, and finally learned that this village chief was quite famous throughout the black market.

He was reputedly known as the eccentric merchant.

The so-called eccentric merchant only sold goods unavailable in the market and also supported bartering.

This truth-seeking journey of the several Law Enforcement Elders once again fell into a predicament.

However, one thing was certain: this village chief either had been swapped by someone else or schemed against the Taichu Sect from the beginning. By becoming the village chief under the mountain of Taichu Sect, he could act in the black market under the banner of Taichu Sect as he pleased.

The Law Enforcement Elders inquired in the black market for another two months and finally clarified what had happened with the eccentric merchant at that time.

At the same time, they also learned what this Jade Flower was.

It turned out that this Jade Flower was the legendary Illusory Flower—Dream. This flower grew in the Misty Place, one of the top ten forbidden areas. Originally a common wildflower, it absorbed the illusory energy from the Misty Place and, for some other reasons, became the legendary Dream.

This flower, before being refined for artifact use, could produce illusory energy just by being infused with spiritual qi, causing people to hallucinate. Those below the Baihui Realm couldn't defend against it, and even demon beasts at the Grand Marshal level might fall victim at any time.

It could be considered an ultimate magical treasure for those practicing illusion techniques.

And the village chief of Tazhai Village might not recognize this flower, only thinking it looked beautiful, so he took it away. Since he had no cultivation, he deemed it nothing more than a pretty flower with no real value. Thus he decided to let the disciples of Taichu Sect take a look at it. If it wasn't that rare, he would sell it to Taichu Sect as compensation for using their name in the black market.

The result was that a disciple of Taichu Sect accidentally activated the flower, which then released the illusory energy.

This caused everyone in Tazhai Village to fall into an illusion realm.

The massacre of the village might not have happened at all; perhaps the villagers killed each other while the person behind the scenes reaped the benefits.

This Jade Flower was possibly sold to the village chief of Tazhai Village on purpose by that mysterious person, causing mutual slaughter in the village. This was to get some materials from the village chief's treasure vault.

This conclusion was reached by the Law Enforcement Elders after a year of investigation. Although some parts seemed far-fetched, it was a possible explanation. Of course, the final say rested with that mysterious person—only he might know the whole truth.

This meant that if Ye Tianfan was dissatisfied with this conclusion and wanted to know more truths, he should find that mysterious person to learn the whole truth from him.

After reading, Ye Tianfan took a deep breath. So, this village chief wasn't a good person either. But who exactly was that mysterious person? The known clues were now all missing, except for the fact that he sold the materials to the Demon Sect Leader Zhang Youji. When they could speak on equal terms in the future, he must ask clearly.

Ye Tianfan shook his head, folded the paper in his hand a few times, and then placed it in his chest.

It seems that this matter is still too early for him. When he reaches the Shifang Realm, then he will address it. By then, he should be able to have an equal dialogue with the Demon Sect Leader Zhang Youji.

Ye Tianfan decided not to dwell on the matter but to keep it deeply in his mind.

Then Ye Tianfan lay directly on the bed. Originally, he thought of waiting for his senior brother, but before he realized it, Ye Tianfan fell asleep.

The next day, when Ye Tianfan woke up, he found that his senior brother had already gotten up and had even prepared water for himself.

Just as Ye Tianfan finished washing his face, he saw his senior brother coming in with some food.

Upon entering, You Tianjiao saw Ye Tianfan was already awake and hastily placed the food one by one on the table.

"Junior Brother, have you washed up? Hurry and eat breakfast. I didn't know what you like, so I brought a bit of everything."

After Ye Tianfan finished his breakfast, he followed You Tianjiao to the venue. Since today he didn't wake up late, he found plenty of empty seats when he arrived.

As per the usual routine, a senior elder left after seeing Ye Tianfan's arrival.

Tian Chu Zhenren saw Ye Tianfan arrive and intended to offer some encouragement. However, seeing his other disciples swarm in, he decided not to give extra admonitions and simply nodded toward Ye Tianfan.

"Junior Brother, Junior Brother, let me tell you, I know who your opponent is today." Just as Ye Tianfan reached the Taifeng Stage, his third senior brother Liang Tianqi came up and spoke to Ye Tianfan.

"Who? It doesn't matter who it is; I will give it my all," Ye Tianfan said with a smile.

"That's the spirit! But Junior Brother, your opponent today is quite difficult. He's from the Tai Array Peak. I've heard he has around a hundred array banners with him. His previous opponents were all defeated the moment Sect Leader announced the start; he just threw the array banners without pausing, immediately summoning an array to defeat the opponent," Liang Tianqi said to Ye Tianfan.

"But don't worry, as long as you summon that, no matter what array he uses, it'll be powerless against you," Liang Tianqi said with a chuckle.

"Yes, Junior Brother, when the competition begins, wait until Sect Leader announces the start, and directly summon the Xuanhuang Tower. This way, at least you won't be affected by his array, and then you can battle him head-on," Fifth Senior Brother Su Tianxing added.

"But the real skill of the Tai Array Peak is indeed arrays, right?" Second Senior Brother Mu Tianshun couldn't help but interject after hearing this.

"Exactly. Limiting their main skill and then claiming to test true skills?" Fourth Senior Brother Xue Tianjie also couldn't help but comment.

"Uh..." Su Tianxing was left speechless, and he actually found their arguments quite reasonable.

While they were chatting, the venue was already filled. Furthermore, Tian Chu Zhenren was standing in the middle of the stage.

"Now, participants from the Taichu Sect, please come on stage and prepare!"

When Ye Tianfan heard Tian Chu Zhenren's words, he saluted his master and flew towards his arena. At this point, only eight arenas remained, and Ye Tianfan was on the eighth, the last one.

After Ye Tianfan flew to the arena, he found there was already someone present.

This person gave off quite a fierce air, his eyes sharp like an eagle, staring intently at you. Without waiting for Ye Tianfan to get a closer look, he heard Tian Chu Zhenren speak again.

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